Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Notes on the Toronto G20 Black Bloc



 Update: Watch this fucking video from the Stimulator. Anarchists started a riot in Toronto, not cops.

The Black Bloc against the G20 summit in Toronto was one of the fiercest, ruthlessly efficient and effective Blocs seen in North America in a considerable amount of time. This, of course, was brought by the momentum and experience gained by the anarchist movement in North America (under insurmountable odds in most circumstances) within the last fifteen years. Several police cars were set on fire, corporate property destruction and looting were rampant, and the pigs were fought in the street. This is what happened in Toronto.

There are a number of people denouncing the tactic and groups and individuals employing it, as per usual after these sorts of things. Some, like Judy Rebick, have gone far enough to claim that the Black Bloc is pretty much full of police officers committing the majority of the damage. This is just ignorant and clearly Judy is not well versed in the tactic or history of its deployment. There are always a small percentage of undercovers in the bloc, mostly planted for observation and to single out folks for the snatch squads. I'll quote the great essay on the matter by

"To bolster her Toronto conspiracy theory, Rebick bring up the Montebello incident where masked cop infiltrators were exposed and the cops admitted the infiltration. She neglects to mention that it was the real black blocers who exposed the cops, not the union leader who couldn't understand the word “police” in French. She also, of course, doesn't bring up this year's March 15th anti-police demonstration in Montreal, where masked police attempting to infiltrate the demo were physically attacked and driven out.

Rebick uses the term “agent provocateur”, as others have. But do the cops really need to “provoke” the black bloc or others into burning cop cars or smashing corporate windows? You can't provoke a group to do what it is already doing and wants to be doing. You can only provoke people into doing what they wouldn't otherwise do. This is what the cops are concerned with most of all about the black bloc. That the bloc will inspire others who would like to riot but who feel isolated and unable to. That the black bloc will “provoke” others into doing what they already want to, joining in the fun."
In closing, SnitchWire would like to denounce the police state as well as breathe a short sigh of relief that there were no Brandon Darby/Anna/Andrew Darst scenarios unfolded before the summit went down. Hopefully, it stays that way. Solidarity with those arrested and to those that waged war on capitalism, the police, and the ruling class. If anyone has video/photos of undercover police officers from the demos, please email us to contribute our upcoming hot video jam of the summer: "Badly Disguised Swine Attempting to Infiltrate Resistance Demo."

8 comments:

  1. Two of the BB organizers turned out to be COPS.
    Listen to AWOL radio .
    Why not put that up on your Snitch site. I guess you are too busy blowing the BB.

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  2. Prove it anon.

    Give me some information and we'll see about all of that. It isn't exactly unprecedented, and it doesn't really matter considering the success of the demo performed by clearly non-cop elements. There are almost ALWAYS infiltrators in black blocs, but it doesn't stop anarchists from doing what they strive to achieve with the black bloc. Like it was already posted, you can't provoke somebody into doing something they already were going to do or are currently engaged in doing.

    Fuck the police.

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  3. Hey Snitchwire. Anon here. Thanks for proving it for me by posting about Brenda and Khalid.
    BTW Brenda went to ORGANIZING meetings and argued against established community activists IN FAVOUR of the black block and "diversity of tactics". This person went online and verbally abused community activists who critiqued the ottawa bank firebombing. The cops are trying to push certain politics at organizing meetings and shape events. It does matter.

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  4. Holy shit. That is called an agent provocateur. They are VERY COMMON and attempt to get usually otherwise non-militant or easily manipulated individuals to carry out crimes so they can be PAID by the state. They even act in black bloc actions. They are a minority. These are usually the folks responsible for smashing up "small" shops and civilian cars. This is done to discredit targeted and principled property destruction, and you are playing directly into that mindset with a good protester-bad protester dichotomy (or a "all the militants are cops"). That is very dangerous, it allows the State to divide movements and take the fangs out of resistance.

    That doesn't mean there aren't anarchists and other radical militants advocating for "diversity of tactics" and direct action as well as carrying those actions out. Watch the Stimulator's (who was there filming) take on it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLopuQUgsWM

    I think it clears up a lot. Read up on past mobilizations, there are always snitches, infiltrators, and agent provocateurs. This whole website was developed in response to that.

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  5. Couple of questions snitchwire:

    1. What is accomplished by "pricipled" property
    destruction aka smashing windows with hammers.
    2. What is your definition of militant?
    3. What movement are you talking about?
    4. What do you think is the "resistance" and what are its "fangs"?
    5. Why do you think Brenda was making DOT arguments at TCMN organizing meetings?

    BTW I have read up on past mobilizations, in addition I helped to organize a lot of them.

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  6. I should clarify, I helped organize many mobilizations in Toronto.

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  7. GAHHHHH

    I just had a whole response to all five points of your questions and the log-in screen ate it. I apologize for that, I'll get back to this soon. I am guessing you and I have fundamental differences of how we view the world as well as how we would shape it. In the meantime, I'd encourage you to read this FAQ on direct action (should answer your questions on militancy as well as why property destruction is wielded by some) http://www.infoshop.org/page/AnarchistFAQSectionJ2

    I'd also encourage you to read about other informants in radical movements, specifically Brandon Darby. Informants sometimes try to act as RADICAL AS POSSIBLE in order to ensnare folks of that bent to commit actions with them, thus getting them arrested.

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  8. Next time bloc members, people will be prepared to stop you themselves. You destroy a peaceful protest, you can expect no mercy.

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